Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a serious Adobe Flash Player memory-safety flaw. A user interaction is required, but successful exploitation can run attacker-controlled code with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CISA lists it as known exploited, so legacy Flash exposure should be treated as urgent.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for any remaining Flash footprint. This is older technology, but KEV status means real-world exploitation has been observed, and successful compromise can give an attacker code execution on affected systems.
Technical view
CVE-2018-15982 is a CWE-416 use-after-free vulnerability in Flash Player versions 31.0.0.153 and earlier, and 31.0.0.108 and earlier. The CVSS 3.1 score is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction required, and high CIA impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is mainly legacy systems, browsers, packaged applications, or enterprise images that still include affected Flash Player builds. The supplied CPE data is incomplete, so asset validation should focus on installed Flash versions and vendor advisory applicability.
Exploitation context
CISA KEV marks this CVE as known exploited. The source bundle also lists an Exploit-DB entry, indicating public exploit material exists. No safe assumption should be made that user-interaction requirements materially reduce risk in legacy environments.
Researcher notes
The bundle has strong exploitation signal but incomplete affected-product metadata. Treat the affected-version text and vendor advisories as primary scoping inputs. Avoid overextending beyond Flash Player unless an internal asset or vendor package explicitly maps to this CVE.
Mitigation direction
- Identify and remove affected Flash Player installations where business use is not required.
- For required Flash use, follow Adobe APSB18-42 guidance.
- Apply applicable Red Hat RHSA-2018:3795 updates where relevant.
- Restrict legacy Flash execution to isolated, tightly controlled environments.
- Review vendor guidance before accepting compensating controls.
Validation and detection
- Inventory endpoints and images for Flash Player versions 31.0.0.153, 31.0.0.108, or earlier.
- Confirm whether Adobe APSB18-42 or RHSA-2018:3795 applies to each affected asset.
- Check vulnerability management tools for CVE-2018-15982 detections.
- Verify legacy browser plugins or bundled runtimes are removed or updated.
- Review EDR and proxy logs for suspicious Flash document handling.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-416: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-15982 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- Yes
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CISA KEV status
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- RHSA-2018:3795CVE reference · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://helpx.adobe.com/security/products/flash-player/apsb18-42.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- 46051CVE reference · exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-15982CVE reference · government-resource
- https://github.com/cisagov/vulnrichment/issues/195CVE reference · issue-tracking
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.